Birthday:June 6th 1995Coloration:Blue TabbyLikes:Aspen liked to be the center of attention.Pet-Peeves:Being ignoredFavorite Toy:He liked the ball in the round trackFavorite Nap Spot:With his feline familyFavorite Food:whatever was given to him!Skills:He had a very LOUD meow that saved his life.Dwells:
indoors and outdoors Arrival Story:Aaah Aspen... he was a good boy, full of life. Too young to leave this world. A week after I brought my new kitten Nala home, I was doing work at my word processor with the window wide open when I heard this loud meow from across the road. I looked out but couldn't see a cat so I went outside to see what this cat was meowing for. There were 2 men talking right across the road, and one driveway over was a small kitten meowing his little head off. I asked the two men if the cat belonged to them and they said no. I plucked the tiny kitten up and carried him home with me. The very loud meow this little white/grey striped "purple" cat had was what saved his life. He was about the same size and age as my newest kitten Nala was at that time. My one year old money cat, Hope was just adjusting to having a kitten in the house when I brought Aspen home. I kept him in a kennel until the next day I took him to the vets to get checked out. They asked me what his name was and I paused. I hadn't thought about it yet. I started to say "Smokey" but that was the name of the gray kitten I had when I was eight. She was hit by a car before she was a year old. I was thinking arctic, smokey, gray.... "Aspen" I responded. Go figure. So Aspen was named. After being treated for the usual ear mites, Aspen was fine. He grew into a very handsome and stunning boy. He had the personality of a Siamese cat... very talkitive and got very upset if he was ignored. He had a habit of reaching out to grab a person who dared ignore his pleas for attention. He was very loving and got along well with both Hope and Nala. We had a happy feline family.Bio:When Aspen was about a year and a half, Hope was hit by a car (or something). I took her to the vets but she died overnight. they didn't have emergency care at that time or overnight staffing in the area vet clinics (until the very recent opening of an emergency vet clinic staffed cooperatively by area vets) so basically the vet stuck an IV in Hope's arm and left her to die overnight. Less than a month later, Aspen was insistant upon going outside. I hadn't let him out very much since Hope's death, but he always came back when we called him. He would come meowing towards the house from the back yard and come in. This day, I really didn't want to let him out as I was going to be out. That night near 10 pm I was calling and calling for him, but he wouldn't come home. I walked around the neighborhood and could not find him. I didn't want to look across the road. Then a person from the building across the road hung out her window and asked me if I was looking for a cat. "yes" I said. she proceeded to tell me that she saw a woman put a cat on the sidewalk earlier. I freaked. There was about a foot of snow on the ground, November, cold and ten o'clock at night and I crossed the road and looked down at the sidewalk to find my beloved Aspen on the icey walk way. I just lost it. I screamed and screamed and cried hysterically... so much so some idiot called the police who treated it like a psych call. My Aspen was dead. Hit by a car. The police ever so caringly told me to "grow up" and put me in a squad car ignoring my husband-then-fiancee's asking them to leave me. They took me to the ER (idiots) and my fiancee showed up. All he could do was hold me as I fell apart on the floor of an exam room. All the ER could do was give me a good dose of some benzodiazapines and let me cry myself out. I fell asleep on the floor in my fiancee's arms.
Aspen was a one-of-a-kind cat taken from us too soon. I didn't name him "Smokey" but his death and my response even many years later were nearly identical. He would still suffer the same fate and so soon after the loss of Hope that I couldn't tolerate it.Forums Motto:Listen to me darn-it!!I've Been On Catster Since: